Hinamatsuri postcard I bought from Itoya Ginza Today, Japan celebrates Hinamatsuri, or Girl’s Day, a day to celebrate all the little girls across Japan, to pray and wish for young girls happiness and growth. On March 3rd, families with daughters display beautiful Hina dolls dressed in ancient costumes arranged on different steps. The dolls represent the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. Families arrange their dolls out for display beginning in mid-February and take down the display as close to March 3rd as possible. Traditionally, the ..read more

Today we headed to Hanegi Park, where Mila and her friends enjoyed running around and getting lost in a very cool yellow maze. Hanegi Park is one of the many unique children’s parks in Tokyo and can be enjoyed by adults too. The park is over 100 years old and home to over 650 plum (ume) trees, which are in bloom right now. Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to describe how beautiful plum blossoms are. I took a few quick snaps of the plum blossoms and envisioned myself sitting under a tree to write a Haiku. Reality sunk in and I quickly realized the kids were much more interested in the play areas th ..read more

Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! Out with the demon, in with the happiness! What exactly is Setsubun? I genuinely had no idea until I got a message from Mila’s school saying they were celebrating. At first, I thought maybe it was Groundhog’s Day but Japanese style. I quickly came to realize it was much more exciting than a groundhog seeing its own shadow! The annual Japanese festival, Setsubun, is celebrated the eve before the first day of Spring. Setsubun means the division of the seasons marking the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. To observe this new beginning, children need to sc ..read more

We went on our first family road trip this past weekend as Krish just passed his Japanese drivers exam, and we were itching to explore outside Tokyo. We decided to drive to Lake Kawaguchiko and Oishi Park, about a 90-minute drive from Tokyo via the Chuo Expressway located in the Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji. Mt. Fuji in kanji Depending on the season, Lake Kawaguchiko can be surrounded by beautiful flowers or fall foliage. On the north shore of Kawaguchiko, Oishi Park is a park where you will see some of the most magnificent views of Fujisan. Oshi Park is also home to the Kawaguchiko N ..read more

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, many of us are navigating the new norm of balancing work, child care, staying on top of the latest coronavirus news, making sure everyone in the household is washing their hands, wearing their masks, and of course, figuring out who is making the meals and doing the dishes later. In the last few weeks, I have been making many “to-do” lists (on pieces of paper, in my notes section of my iPhone), and I found myself continually swapping back and forth between tasks. I was fighting the next fire and pretty much wasn’t making much progress on ..read more

“We’re not in Kohler anymore Toto” D. Petriello Come take a seat and experience the auto-warming seats, the complex series of adjustable bidet sprays, the anti-bacterial “pre-mist” self-cleaning feature, the euphemistic pictograms: what could be more Japanese? Apologies in advance as I never thought I would write about a topic like this, but Japan’s sophisticated toilets are so foreign for someone like me. The Toto Washlets are simply brilliant.  My first experience with this fantastic technology was when we landed at Narita Airport after a 14-hour flight from Newark, New Jersey. I neve ..read more